The Ladies of San Antonio

The Ladies of San Antonio
I can remember when I was a child that we would come to San Antonio for a holiday or a quick vacation. We did the typical routine of seeing the Alamo, and walking through the River Walk. As an adult, the only time I see the Alamo is either when I am driving down town for something, or when someone is holding an event on TV, they always seem to pan over to the graceful old structure, which is a historical symbol of what San Antonio stands for.
There is another part of San Antonio that is almost never spoken of. That is some of the most beautiful Architecture that lines these streets of this historical old town. Just south of downtown lies a neighborhood called King Williams. The development of the King William area began in the 1850's on land that was originally farmland owned by the Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo). Ultimately, it became one of the finest neighborhoods, where prominent citizens built their mansions to announce their success. The majority of these original families were German immigrants, and thus the street and later the area was named for Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia. In 1968 the King William Historic District was created as the first historic district in Texas. (Historical information provided by Nobles Inn website)
On Saturday I took a journey to pay tribute to these beautiful ladies. They still stand so proud and graceful. I took so many picture that Iwill share a few of them with you on Mondays for the next few weeks. -Cheers, Amy

Sisters

About Me.....

About Me…
I am a 34 yr. old, stay at home mom with three children. Morgan is 14, McKenzie 6, and Mason 18months. We live a very full and busy life. I feel like I am very blessed to have the life that I do, God has been very good to me.
I was raised by my mother in a small town in West Texas, and I moved to San Antonio eight years ago with my husband. He seems to appreciate my zany attitude and unconventional ways of doing things, considering that he was raised in a very conservative house hold. I think that he just keeps me around sometime because I make him laugh. Well, that and I can cook.
A few weeks ago I took a trip to Ft. Worth with my husband. He had to work and I tagged along for the ride. The ride was nice, we talked and then he had to prepare for his lecture. While he did this I put on my IPod and listened to Michel Buble’. I drove and sang and even danced a little. I sang so loud, Adam really couldn’t concentrate on his work. But still sang. To be honest with you I can’t really remember the last time I sang and danced in the can. Most of the time the car rides consists of driving the kids around to where they need to be. I do enjoy some of the car pool conversations with the teenage girls when they are not interrupted by ringing cell phones. I have learned that if you want to know what is going on. DRIVE THEM AROUND, you would be amazed what they will tell you.
Anyway, on Friday I went to visit my grandmother whom I had not seen in twenty years. This is a big thing for me, because to be honest with you I really do not do a lot of new things, and to walk into a room to see a woman who you do not really know very well, not knowing what she thinks and feel is a little bit scary. I had to wait for what seemed like almost an hour for her to finish her lunch. So I went in to a waiting room. Teary eyed and scared. Then I stopped and prayed. I thanked God for my relationship with my husband, even through the tough time, we always see The BIG Picture. I thanked him for blessing me with three healthy children. And I prayed for guidance; to help me be a courageous and strong woman. And then I though….I AM A STRONG COURAGOUS WOMAN OF GOD. At that moment, she was wheeled in to see me and we sat and visited.
We talked for about 2 hours mostly about family members that I hardly know. Then she told me the oddest thing. I knew that she had worked in a health food store for many years, and she actually used to be somewhat of a health nut, which is a bit odd since she liked to drink a little too much. Then she told me that she retired at the age of 60, but wished that she would have stayed and worked longer, she said that she could have worked for at least ten more years, she is 83 now. WORKED? This had stayed in my mind until today. She said that when she retired that she has big plans to travel and see the things that she always wanted to see. But she never did, so she should have just stayed and worked, plus she enjoyed the people that she worked with. I have never been the same since this conversation.
To sum it up this is how this little adventure began. I thought of what do I want to do. Who am I? Well, besides a wonderful wife and mother. What type of relationships do I want to have? What memories do I want to reflect on when I am 83? This is not about being unhappy with my lovely family who I know that I am still growing and cultivating, but the other relationships in my life. The relationships that help me become a stronger daughter, sister, friend and woman. So this is where the crazy idea begins…. Now where it takes me, that is another blog on it’s own.
http://offherrocker2.blogspot.com/

Imperfections

The Nesting has asked everyone to share their imperfections. I sat with my cup of coffee and thought for a while. Which imperfections I would like to share? Should I tell you about the fact that I celebrated the fact that I have started running 2 miles twice a week with a million calorie cup of Starbucks coffee, or the fact that sometimes I have eaten raw cookie dough for breakfast, because I haven’t made it to the store yet. No, instead for scaring my new blog friends I decided to share my other disorders with you.
Yes, I am admitting it! I am addicted to little chairs. I feel that I am doing my little part to recycle these little chairs, with big hopes of saving money and beautifying my house. One little chair at a time. It first started when I found a little Berger chair in a home store that was out of my price range, by the time I had convinced myself that I couldn't live without it, it was sold. A week later, I found this one at a garden center that the man had used it as his own. He willingly sold it to me, and probably laughed as he counted the money. I was so excited, and hence the addiction began, with high hope to recover them soon.
The ugly chair parade….

No, Mason didn't do it.

I found it in the trash this way.

Ft. Worth Stroll

Ft. Worth strolls…
I saved this one to write a separate note. This little house has got to be one of my favorites. The owners are in the process of remodeling it; in fact you can see the permits posted in the windows. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the owners have added a thick layer of stucco to the exterior of the house, but you can still see some of the brick peering though. But, I must say, my favorite thing is the crystal chandelier hanging on the front porch. I have seen larger houses with iron chandlers in the houses with port cache', but never like this. I think that I stood out there for so long, that when we walked back bye, the owner had come out and was looking around. He had re-entered by the time we had gotten to his fabulous house, or I would have tried to strike up a conversation with him. Hey, you never know when someone will invite you in for a cup of coffee….

Stroll through Colonial Country Club Ft.Worth, TX

This weekend I went to visit my mom in Ft. Worth. We went for a little walk in The Colonial Country Club area. Here are some of the homes that have been lovingly maintained and restored. The Colonial Country Club was founded in 1936 by Marvin Leonard and is host to Crowne Plaza Invitational a PGA Tour an event held in May.

My Morgan

This is our first full week of summer and it is already full of activities. I can’t believe that Morgan is now going into high school. During the last weeks of school, the realization kicked in when she had to get fitted for Pep Squad uniforms, then the last week the stickers for our car and yard signs came in.
This week she is volunteering at church to work VBS and I have enjoyed listening to her daily adventures. This year it was organized a little different, they allowed the children to pick the groups that they wanted to be in. Therefore, Morgan’s group consists of 17, 2nd grade boys. She doesn’t seem to mind because it has allowed her best friend Jordan to be a helper also. Needless to say, the boy’s love the teenage helpers. Apparently one of them told Jordan that he has big plans to kiss her on Friday. Luck for her VBS ends on Thursday…
Where has the time gone? I so remember the days when she wore her little plastic dress shoes everywhere she went. It has now been replaced with make-up, flip flops and cell phones. Before too long, we will be packing up her car and sending her off to college. I pray each day that I remember take the time to slow down and cherish every moment that I have with each one of my children, because they truly do grow up so fast.
-Cheers

How does your garden grow….

How does your garden grow….
In March we took a family trip to the garden center, to look at some trees that I was interested in planting in the front yard. When I was finished looking at the prices of the trees, my husband said that he wanted to look at a few things, so I took the little ones to look at flowers and he wandered around. A few minutes later he emerged from the greenery with two plants in hand. One plant was a blue grapevine, the other was a black berry vine. “I want to plant these in the garden” he told me. Now, we have lived in our house for about a year now and I think that we are just now getting settled. The previous owners must have had a wonderful garden, at one time. It is an enclosed structure that would make Martha Stewart proud, but now had become overgrow and out of control with the past year of neglect. But, he was bound and determined that he would have a bountiful crop of grapes and black berries.
So now we venture home with vines in hand and he and the girls spend the whole day working on our garden. Mason and I supervised and then took a nap. Supervising is very hard work you know.
The garden was cleaned out in a day and he planted his vines in the perfect spot. I then decided that the area is so large that we need to plant other things. So the next day, Mason and I head to Wal-Mart. They actually have a good little garden center, and I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money on plants that I would probably kill.
In the span of two weeks I had planted corn, squash, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and okra. Without any prep what so ever, I just put them in the ground and added a little mulch, and said a little prayer and watered the garden.
To my surprise we go out there every day to watch out little sprouts turn into little plants. Then to watch the beautiful flowers turn in to something that you can eat. As soon as McKenzie gets off the bus she runs to see what new things have grown that day. It has become a wonderful family project.
Now, what to do with the fruits of our labor????
-Cheers

Blessed

A few days ago I saw a commercial for a lawn fertilizer. There was a man looking over his perfect green lawn with great satisfaction. Then, out of the corner of his eye he sees his daughter picking a dandelion out of his neighbor’s yard, makes a wish and the seeds fall in his yard. He then dives to capture the seeds so that they would not damage his lovely yard. I laughed a little and then went about my day without giving it another thought. A few days later I sat in the chair trying to catch my breath from the rush of the mornings activities, breakfast, getting the kids dressed and on the bus, and watched my 16 month old son dancing around to music coming from the TV. At that moment, it dawned on me…
We are so obsessed with perfection that we seldom stop to make a wish or count our blessing. So, today I will be thankful for my 3 children that God has blessed me with. Does He really care if their socks don’t match!